Armstrong Siddeley 30hp Open Touring Car.
Enough of this sizeable automobile is visible to confirm the car's identity as an Armstrong Siddeley - the biggest giveaways are the pointed radiator, and the wheel pattern. Stare very very closely at the photo and the shape of the sphinx radiator mascot can just be discerned. A number of different vehicles were produced following the formation of Armstrong Siddeley Motors Ltd in Coventry, this however looks to be the largest of the lot, the 30HP, in open tourer form. A smartly-attired couple, with hound, are sat within the car's capacious interior. A young chap, sleeves rolled up, stands to the side, while another gent's head can just be seen peaking over the Armstrong Siddeley's high-set bonnet. I wonder if either of them acted as chauffeur on a regular basis, with the car's owners shown sat in the front of the car for the purposes of the photo only? |
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The company began producing cars under the Armstrong Siddeley name in 1919, and the 4,960cc 30hp model was the first to be offered. A six-cylinder vehicle, it was designed with discerning buyers in mind, their advertising referring to "... the best of everything - design, material, craftsmanship ..." and "... a motor carriage of high efficiency, stately appearance, and ample power". Modestly (!) they also announced that "You cannot buy a better car". Buyers could opt for a rolling chassis (875GBP), Open Touring Car (1,190GBP - shown above), Saloon (1,295GBP), Town Saloon (1,345GBP), Landaulette (1,400GBP) or Limousine (1,450GBP). If owning a 30HP motor-car was too much to contemplate, agents could also supply 18hp cars (again six-cylinder powered), or a range of 14hp cars (four-cylinder), the latter featuring a plain flat radiator, rather than the peaked version found on the 18hp and 30hp.
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By 1924 advertisements for the 30HP show a car fitted with exterior door handles, the example in the photo above doesn't feature these so I think it must date to the beginning of the 1920s. In addition to their lofty stance, Armstrong Siddeleys were also recognisable by their lack of ornamentation or fussy styling, the bonnet for instance didn't feature any cooling louvres in its side panels, and the disc wheels were as simple as they could be. In May 1925 a "Mk2" version of the 30hp would be introduced, followed by the "Mk3" of 1928, which served the company until the withdrawal of the 30hp from the market in 1932.
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Return to Page 15 in the gallery of vintage cars and vehicles.
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